CJI Gogoi seeks report from SC registry on delay in forwarding letter by Unnao rape victim's family

NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi Wednesday sought a response from the Supreme Court registry over delay in presenting the July 12 letter written by the Unnao rape victim's family before him. 

CJI Gogoi has asked the SC registry to file a reply within a week and explaining when was the letter forwarded.

The Unnao rape victim is in a critical condition after she met with an accident on the National Highway 232 near Raebareli on Sunday. 

Family members of the victim, in a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi on July 12, had stated that kin of accused Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar threatened them to settle case else they would be implicated in false cases.

The letter was addressed to several senior officials including the CJI, Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, UP Chief Secretary and UP DGP.

On Sunday, a truck rammed into the car in which she was travelling along with her mother, aunts and lawyer Mahendra Singh. 

Locals rushed to the spot, pulled out the victims and rushed them to a nearby hospital where the girl's aunt was declared 'brought dead'. Both the Unnao victim and Singh are on ventilator. The vicitm suffered a head injury and a fractured leg.

While initial investigations of the UP Police indicated that it was a road mishap, there have been suspicions of some foul play at work. Opposition parties like Congress and Samajwadi Party have called it a murder conspiracy and have demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigations. Even Mamata Banerjee expressed her dismay at the incident and called for a high-level probe.

Under pressure from several counters, the BJP suspended accused MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar from the party on Tuesday. 

The last rites of the deceased aunt, who died in the crash, will be held on Wednesday in Balughat in Unnao's Gangaghat Kotwali area.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up around the Unnao victim's home.